Braden River High football team sanctioned for illegal practices

The Manatee County School District released the disciplinary action regarding the Braden River High football program allegedly conducting illegal practices prior to the start of spring workouts, which begin Monday.

Between the school's self-reported investigation and a collaboration with the Florida High School Athletic Association, Braden River was hit with the following sanctions:

▪ Forfeiting spring football this season, which includes the May 18 game at Immokalee High;

▪ Athletic director Matt Nesser and head coach Curt Bradley are required to attend an FHSAA compliance seminar for the next two years;

▪ The program must find a suitable replacement opponent for Immokalee High or financial restitution

▪ The school was fined $1,600 and reprimanded; probation for the football program through the 2018-2019 school year.

"Braden River takes extreme pride in sportsmanship and running a high quality and compliant program," Nesser said in the press release. "We have already made changes to ensure oversights such as this do not happen in the future. We look forward to moving forward and preparing for the fall."

Braden River self-reported the incident to the FHSAA on April 18, according to the FHSAA report.

The FHSAA's findings concluded Braden River violated Policy 21, which details offseason conditioning. Football programs are limited to 20 spring practices no earlier than Week 44 of the FHSAA calendar or the last 20 days of the school year, whichever comes first.

Due to self-reporting, the FHSAA's fine was levied at $40,000, but only $1,600 is due. The remaining $38,400 balance is held in abeyance as long as the school does not incur further policy violations during its 2018-2019 probationary period.

This story was originally published April 20, 2018 at 2:45 PM with the headline "Braden River High football team sanctioned for illegal practices."